"It's just a way you can connect to your friends other than meeting them in public," he said.

He enjoys YouTube videos the most. He uses Twitter to communicate with his friends, and because he plays soccer and watches the league in Europe, Eric will follow a channel that tweets about transfers and soccer news. His siblings also use social media sites. His older brother posts pictures of soccer cleats on Instagram and has more than 30,000 followers.

Their mother, Lori Napier, said some of the sites are interesting but can be excessive. "It's just constant it seems."

Thankfully, they have not encountered any safety issues. Eric only follows people he knows and does not accept requests from strangers.

Still, as more and more options pop up in the social media world, young users need to be safe and responsible and parents need to always be aware and proactive, local law enforcement officials say.

"Really, it's trying to keep up," said Aaron Zemlock, community liaison officer for the City of Menasha Police Department. "These apps are created every day and what's going to become popular is hard to say. The kids want the quicker, faster, more integrated apps."

Social media can be a good experience when used properly, said Jason Weber, community liaison officer for the Town of Menasha Police Department. With teens, parents need to set rules, boundaries and expectations as well as lead by example and stress the importance of using social media safely and appropriately.

"It sends a good message to the kids that you care about them," Weber said. "They might not like it. We've never been more connected as a society, but we've never been more disconnected as human beings."

Below are some popular social media sites, why kids like them and what parents need to know.

Twitter

What it is: Twitter allows users to post brief, 140-character messages and follow other users' activities.

Users can develop a following. Messages they post quickly can be shared out to multiple people. Celebrities, news organizations and businesses use it.

There have been cases of cyber-bullying with Twitter, Zemlock said.

"It's very easy for people to rapid fire and pepper someone with negative comments," he said.

Twitter limits how long a message can be, which is why teens use abbreviations. Parents struggle trying to keep up with the lingo.

"You have to keep your message to the point," Weber said. "I think that is one of the reasons it led to abbreviations. And also to hide what they are saying."

A danger lies in what is said is seen and shared by multiple users. Also, there is a risk that users do not know who they are tweeting to.

The six-second looping videos can be used by artists plugging their latest album to some funniest home videos.

"That in and of itself can be harmless and fun," Zemlock said. "You get some very creative people that can do some neat stuff in a little six-second video."

But it also can turn into "how shocking can I make this six second video?" he added.

The biggest concern is the default setting, which is public. Therein lies the danger.

"You never know who's going to see it," Zemlock said.

Ask.fm

What it is: Ask.fm lets users ask questions and answer those posted by other users — sometimes anonymously.

"(Ask.fm) has gotten a fair amount of negative press," Zemlock said.

"You do get a lot more negative talk on there," he said. "Some people definitely get a kick on who can be more cruel and gross."

Users can ask a question anonymously, which also adds to the appeal. A harmless question can turn into something negative quickly.

"The issue with the bullying side of it is somebody goes on there to ask a question and someone can make a derogatory comment and hide behind that cloak," Zemlock said.

Gaming systems

What it is: Kids can socialize through gaming systems that have the ability to go online and allow talking and communicating.

"It can sound like there is a basement full of kids with the interactions going on," Weber said.

Like other social media, you might not know for sure who you are communicating with.

"Oftentimes that's the grooming process" for child predators, Weber said. "You get a pedophile who will play a game and start to become a friend of a child and that's a foot in the door and will start to expand. You've really got to know who you are communicating with."